True Bypass Vs Buffered - What's The Difference?

There are few arguments that really get guitarists fired up more than the age-old question as to whether True Bypass vs Buffered is best for guitar tone.

Whether it’s arguing over silicon vs germanium transistors, humbuckers vs single-coil pickups or whether or not valves need replacing every year in a tube amp (they don’t), somehow the discussion as to whether True Bypass is better than Buffered seems to come up in conversation all the time. So, what’s the difference between true bypass and buffered? 

Why does it matter and what’s the right set up for you?

Today, we’re going to take a look at the difference between the two types of pedals, discuss how they work and how they will affect your tone so you can make your own decision on what you need.

Before we delve into whether or not true bypass pedals are better than buffered, or whether buffered pedals colour your tone, we need to understand the signal path and how pedals, and more importantly the size your cables affect the overall sound.

When you plug your guitar or bass straight into your amplifier without any pedals, and with a good quality cable that is less than 15ft, you’ll be getting a strong signal that accurately represents how your guitar is interacting with the amp.

As the guitar is a high impedance device, when you extend the length of the cable over 18.5 ft you’ll automatically start to get degradation of sound and dilute your signal.

This is down to the fact that the signal has to travel further and is called capacitance. The fact of the matter is: the longer the cable, the more it affects your tone.

As most guitarists who gig or play live use anything from 10 to 20 ft cables and longer, you might find that there's a drain your tone and dilution of the signal.

As most of us will be using anywhere from 2 to 8 pedals on your board, that’s at least an extra 6 or so feet of cable - which will dilute it even further.

Not ideal. The rumours are true; size matters. Well, to be more exact the length of your cable matters. But how do we get around this tone drain if we want longer cables? And how will this affect true bypass or buffered pedals?

Let’s find out what they do first.

A true bypass pedal allows the tone and signal of your guitar to flow through unaffected when the pedal is off. This means that all the tone of your guitar is preserved – the pedal does not colour it at all when it’s not being used.

However, due to the fact the true bypass pedal does nothing to boost or enhance the signal, the more pedals you have and the longer the cable over 18.5ft, the more degradation and tone loss will occur.

This is great for tone snobs and those who use smaller length cables. *There’s a great video by Pete Thorn discussing how true bypass and longer cables cause high end roll off. Watch it at the bottom of the page.

A buffered pedal strengthens your tone and drives it through the chain, restoring the signal and tone to what it should be. A buffer does this at all times, whether the pedal is on or off.

If you are using longer cables over 18.5ft on both sides of the pedal i.e. guitar to pedal to amp, then a buffered pedal will preserve the signal and push it to the amp.

Imagine it as someone cheering you on.

You have the tone, but there’s something supporting it and helping you get there safely.

Some guitarists will argue that a buffered pedal will add too much high end, when in reality it provides a far more pronounced and responsive signal.

The truth is, there’s no right or wrong answer to this question as both types of pedals have their benefits and disadvantages. Let's pit True Bypass VS Buffered and find out the differences. 

Thanks to the likes of BOSS pedals raising the standard of buffered pedals, they’re the benchmark that pedal companies try to get to when they create a buffered pedal.

Some guitarists will argue that using buffered pedals exclusively will change your sound, but this comes down to personal preference really.

To be quite honest, it will only strengthen the signal, rather than colour it.

In summary, the differences between true bypass and buffered come down to this; True Bypass is a clear unaffected signal. Buffered is essentially a boosted/restored signal.

If we can give you any advice it would be to mix and match your pedals, and above all, invest in good quality guitar leads at all times.

Not every pedal is true bypass and not all pedals are buffered, so unless you only want one type of brand on your pedalboard, you’re best off mixing and matching pedals with a combination of buffered and true bypass pedals.

You can enjoy good tone, and an array of excellent effects using a combination of true bypass and buffered, the key is just making sure you have at least one buffered pedal on your board and making sure you’re not using cheap knock-off pedals with inferior parts.

It's a good idea to arrange your pedalboard with a buffered pedal at the start of the chain as this takes your tone from the guitar and strengthens it before it gets to your pedals.

As most guitarists put a tuner at the start of the chain (from guitar to tuner), we’d definitely recommend the industry standard BOSS TU-3 tuner as this will inevitably boost the signal and help push the signal to the amp.

If you only place a buffer at the end, you’re pushing a degraded signal, so it’s best to place one at the start as the signal is purer. Feel free to buy whatever pedal you want, and throw whatever you want on your board, both true bypass and buffered, and if you want to be sure the signal is strong just add a final buffered pedal at the end.

This way you have a strong signal passing from your guitar to pedals and eventually to your amp aided by a buffer. Remember, as true bypass pedals do not enhance the signal, if your signal is weak going to a true bypass effect, you won’t get the best out of it.

If it’s being supported by a buffer – everyone wins, and they’ll make your true bypass pedals perform better! As we’ve mentioned, the quality of your cables is important.

So, invest in something like Fender or TOURTECH guitar cables and high-quality patch cables such as the MXR mono 6" jack cables and the Planet Waves Solderless Custom Patch Cable Kit, they’re reliable and used by professionals all over the world.

There’s no point spending thousands on a good guitar, amp and pedals only to ruin your sound with cheap leads! Get the good stuff and it will last a lifetime and keep you sounding your best.

We’ve selected a few of the best true bypass pedals available today. These pedals are reliable, made with high-quality components and ensure your tone passes through as clean as possible.

Perfect for those who want an uninterrupted signal or guitarists who only need one or two pedals.

These are some of the best buffered guitar pedals available today.

These pedals improve and strengthen your signal to provide you with a strong sound throughout the chain and are capable of revitalising a somewhat dull sound, bringing back the high end and are perfect for those who run a longer cable set up or a selection of pedals on a pedal board.

View a full range of guitar and bass effects over at PMT Online.

Updated: 2020-07-01